Book support rack



Nov. 25, 1941. LANDAU BOOK SUPPORT RACK 2 Sheets-Shet '1 Filed. July 12, 1940 i H. R. LANDAU 2,264,086

Nov. "25; 1941.

BOOK SUPPORT RACK Filed July 12, 1940 1 i l I I I l I l l klllllllllllbll l I I I 1 l l l l l I 1 I l ll 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IIL W 1: IllL l' v fll Pllllllllll Patented Nov. 25, 1941 oer-Ice:

BOOK surron'r RACK Hortense R. Landau, New York, N. Y. Application July 12, 1940, Serial No. 345,209 4 Claims. .(Cl. 211-43 This invention relates to book racks and more particularly to an adjustable book support rack which shall V facilitate the handling of heavy books on tables or in cabinet cases and the like.

- One important object or the present invention "is to provide a 's'lidable book support which shall to facilitate removal of the rack whenever necessary for any reason.

A further object of the invention is to provide a-book rack of the character designated which shall have ara-nge of slidable movement com- "mensurate with the size of the book and the table or desk on which it may be mounted.

These and other objects of the invention will be more manifest in the following specification and drawings, and more particularly set forth in the appended claims.

In the drawings-'- Tig. 1 is a perspective view of a book rack constructed and arranged in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a modification showing details of the rack;

7 Fig. 3 is a plan view of the rack shown in Fig.

Fig. '4 isa fragmentary sectional view showing a longitudinal section of the slide rack members;

Fig. '5 is a sectional view on line 55 Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the rackshown in Fig. 7 is a side elevational view of the rack '"s hownin Fig.6; and

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view of the rack shown-in Fig. '7.

Referring to Figs. 2-5 of the drawings, there is shown a book support rack constructed and arranged in accordance with the present inventi'on. Tl-iis'construction embodies a pair of parallel spaced apart channel iron base members I'd-ll which are adapted to rest on a convenient support surface which may be a table top, desk, or cabinet. These base members are substantially in the form of U'-shaped track members with the top of the U-form including inwardly bent flange portions l2 and I3. These portions form a hollow track-way for book supporting frame members arranged to accommodate a large book H! as hereinafter more fully described.

An important feature of the present invention is that large books may be individually supported and handled on separate slide racks so that they may be readily moved in and out of place in a convenient and accessible manner. By thus -slidably moving each book independently, it may be firmly grasped and handled without danger of "dropping the book or breaking the binding when forcing itinto retained position, a condition which frequently happens in handling large and cumbrous books on library shelves or in cases.

Referring to Figs. 2 and 3, the rear ends of the parallel base "members Hi -H are provided with suitable hook=shaped clip portions l4 and 15, respectively, which are adapted to fit over and frictionally engage or clamp a base angle iron supporting or retaining member Hi. This member i6 is rigidly fastened to a fixed support such as a table or the like (not shown) by suitable screws |lll.

Mounted upon the longitudinally disposed base members It and ,is aslidable rack frame for accommodating a large book or the like to be supported for slidable movement to and from its position in a cabinet,.for example. This frame comprises a .pair of angle iron 'side members -I3|9 cooperating and coinciding with the top flange faces of the U-shaped base members I0 and M respectively. As indicated, the member I6 is provided with a base portion 20 slidable on the top surface of base-member ill, for example, and a vertical upright portion 2! forms a side guide for retaining the book supported thereby. The companion parallel slide member I9 is similarly constructed and slides on the base memberl I. Y

The rear ends of the, book support flanges are provided with convenient adjustable stop members 2223. The stop member 22, for example, is slidably adjustable by means of a longitudinal slot 22' and a cooperating clamp screw member 23'. The companion side member is of similar construction so that these adjustable stop members 2223 may be adjusted longitudinally to suit the convenient length of a book so as to project the same forward of the support for-convenient handling.

The cooperating side members [8 and I9 are connected-for rigid unitary movement by an adjustable parallel motion device indicated by the numeral 24. This connection includes a longitudinally disposed strip member 25 which isprovided at each end with 'a pair of pivoted arms 26--2'l and 26'--2-1 respectively. These arm members 26 and 2-l, for example, have one end pivotally connected to the-member 25 and the other end pivotally connected to the under side of a slidable frame 'm'emb'er-by means of the connection shown in Figs. 4 and 5. Since these connections are identical, only one 'will be described in detail.

The connection of the parallel motion frame connected angle iron members 49 and 50.

members to the book support members l8|9 is effected by means of longitudinally disposed slots 28-29 provided on the inside portion of the U-shaped base members |l I. These slot portions are of a length convenient for accommodating the type of book intended to be handled by a support of this kind.

As illustrated in Fig. 2, the connecting frame arms 262'l and 26'2l project through these longitudinal slots to connect with the slidable top frames as indicated in Figs. 3 and 4. The specific pivotal connection for these members comprises an inverted T-shaped block member 30 secured to the under surface of the slidable member 2|] by suitable rivets 3l-3l, and the arm member 26, for example, is connectedto this T-shaped member by means of a tap screw bolt 32.

The parallel motion frame connection is maintained in rigid fixed position by means of clamp plate members 33-34 engaging the connecting arms at the respective ends of the strip member 25. These plate members are held in clamping relation to the arms by tap screws 35 and 35 respectively.

Located at the forward end of the slidable book supporting frame is a convenient handle member 31. This handle is rigidly connected to the side frame members I8 and I9 by means of adjustable arms 38 and 39 connecting their respective side members. These arms are provided with slots 40 and 4|, respectively and are rigidly connected in overlapping relation within the handle 31 by a tap screw 42.

Having thus described a preferred embodiment of a book support rack embodying the present invention, the operation thereof is as follows:

A book which is too large and heavy for convenient handling is placed between the slidable side members l8-l9, and the parallel distance between these sides is adjusted by the parallel motion device -24 and then these parts are clamped in fixed relation by the clamp members 33 and 34 and the handle member 42. The hook-shaped retaining members I4 and I being slidably mounted on the flange of the base frame Hi, the entire apparatus is conveniently adjustable to suit any size of heavy book so that it may be handled and stored in position with comparative ease and'little effort. By providing suitable anti-friction devices in the base rail l0, for example, friction is reduced to a minimum. One such anti-friction device is indicated in Fig. 4 by the ball 43 mounted in a spherical bearing seat 44 struck from the surface metal of the flanges l2-l3 of the rail.

A modification of the rack is shown in Figs. 6, '7, and 8. The same general arrangement is carried out in which similarly formed hollow support base rails 45 and 46 are provided. These are anchored to a rigid book case or cabinet member at the end by suitable tab members 4'! and 48 respectively.

The slidable book receiving framemounted on the base rails indicated by a pair of slidably One side of the angle forms the base and the other side forms a gulde for the edge of the book held between the sides. In this arrangement the rear ends of the sides is provided with an upright extension portion 5|. This extension insures holding the book upright and also facilitates its entrance into, and removal from the rack.

The rack members 49 and 50 are secured in slidable relation to the lower rails by a suitable cleat member indicated by the strip 52 and the retaining bolt 53. Also located in the hollow base tracks are friction rollers 54-54 which bear against the under side of the lower strip 52 and thereby facilitate the sliding movement of the parts.

The slide frames 45 and 50 are adjustably connected by a parallel motion device indicated by the cross arms 55 and 56 clamped in pivotal relation by the screw 51. The respective ends of these, arms are connected to the slide member 49 and 50 by pivotally connected short link members indicated by the numerals 58, 59, 60 and 6|. These short links permit the sides 49 and 50 to be moved laterally to accommodate different sizes of books. Each of the side members is also provided with a longitudinally adjustable rear book stop 62 so that books of different depths may be aligned with the front of the rack, or other books in a row may be aligned whenever it is desirable to align such books.

The front end of the rack is provided with a handle member 63 which is pivotally connected to the adjustable side frames by link members 65-65. This arrangement allows the handle to be centered when the side members are adjusted laterally when accommodating books of different sizes.

While I have shown a preferred embodiment of my invention, it is obvious that various changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the specification and specifically claimed. For example, anti-friction devices such as rollers and the like, may be placed on the U-shaped track and take the Weight of the supporting book slide frame.

What I claim is:

1. An adjustable book support rack comprising a pair of parallel laterally adjustable base track members, means at the adjacent ends of each track to secure the individual tracks to a support, individual book frame track members secured to and slidable on said base tracks, and means for adjusting the parallel distance relation of the base track members and the book frame track members including means for maintaining the members in fixed parallel adjusted relation.

2. Apparatus of the character described in claim 1, in which the base track members are U-shaped, and means on the under side of the book frame track members for engaging the respective U-shaped tracks to hold the same in the open side of said U-shaped members.

3. Apparatus of the character described in claim 1, in which the book frame track members are provided with adjustable stops at the rear portion thereof and to accommodate books of different depths, and a handle member at the front portion of the slidable book frame having adjustable arm connections secured to each book frame track.

4. Apparatus of the character described in claim 1 including a rear support for holding the base track members, and hook means at the extremity at the rear end of each base track member for detachably engaging the support along its linear dimensions.

HORTENSE a. LANDAU. 

